Technical Field
This disclosure relates to medical instruments and more particularly to an interface connecting system to ensure appropriate hardware is employed in medical applications.
Description of the Related Art
Medical devices that monitor patient vital signs use various types of sensors to convert a patient's physiological activities into electrical signals. The electrical signals can provide a basis for numeric measurements and time-varying waves that can be displayed and used for detecting alarm conditions. An example is a sensor that measures end-tidal carbon dioxide, EtCO2, by measuring the amount of infra-red light absorbed in the patient's exhaled breath.
Sensors can be physically mounted internally within a patient monitoring device. Alternatively, they can be manufactured as separate modules with a cable that plugs into a port on the monitoring device. A potential advantage of an external sensor is that the end-user can select which of several alternative, compatible sensor types to employ.
Conventional systems use industry standard interface protocols and universal connectors. An illustrative example of an industry standard interface protocol for medical devices is the Bluetooth Health Device Profile (HDP). This standard defines application programmer interfaces (APIs) for exchanging data with a medical device. Specifically supported devices include sensors such pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose meters and thermometers. Vendors can design their sensor products to comply with these standard protocols. Any patient monitoring device that implements the associated HDP can exchange data with compliant sensors.
A universal connector is similar to an industry standard protocol in that it defines standard protocol interfaces. In addition, it defines electrical and mechanical or physical interfaces. An example is the Universal Serial Bus (USB). USB allows numerous types of devices to be connected to a host device.
Industry standard protocols and universal connectors are intended for unlimited applicability, allowing new compliant products to be introduced at any time. This universality makes it impossible for the patient monitoring device manufacturer to verify compatibility and safety with each sensor.